The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has won the support of leading environmental groups and others in its call for a prohibition on the carriage of fuel that is not compliant with the 2020 limit of 0.5% sulphur content.
The shipping group was joined in a joint statement by a combination of industry and green groups issuing a united plea for the ban.
In effect, the policy they seek would mean that any ship with fuel on board above the 0.5% sulphur content limit would be liable for penalty unless it is using a scrubber to clean sulphur out of exhaust gasses, or has proof the fuel was not reasonably available to purchase.
While the policy would represent a crackdown on potential widespread non-compliance with the Marpol Annex VI regulation, the ICS said it believes the fuel will be available to buy and that almost all owners will be able to comply.
External relations director Simon Bennett said: “Although it impossible to predict with certainty what will happen in 2020, there seems to be growing consensus within the bunker industry that compliant fuels will be available but expensive — and probably with an initial period of ‘teething problems’ when compliant fuel might not always be available in every port until it can be shipped in from elsewhere.”
He added: "It is understood that perhaps about half of these low sulphur fuels might have a sulphur content of 0.5% with the remainder being 0.1% fuels as used in Emission Control Areas. Although opinions differ, it is possible that the price differential between 0.5% and 0.1% fuel could be relatively small.”
The proposal from the ICS to prohibit carrying non-compliant fuels has been mirrored in submissions to the IMO from Norway and the Cook Islands.
The ICS proposal has now been backed by Bimco, the Clean Shipping Coalition, Cruise Lines International Association, Friends of the Earth, International Parcel Tankers Association, Intertanko, Pacific Environment, the World Shipping Council and the WWF Global Arctic Programme.
"Unless a ship is using an approved equivalent compliance method, there should be no reason for it to be carrying non-compliant fuels for combustion onboard," the organisations said in a joint statement.
